Adjustable stirrup for saddle



Feb. 15, 1966 F. JAMlEsoN 3,234,711

ADJUSTABLE STIRRUP FDR SADDLE Filed Feb. 1'7, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 v m .lllllllll M1 INVENTOR. F250 JAM/550w 5M a /MJM/ Feb. l5, 1966 F. JAMn-:soN 3,234,711

ADJUSTABLE sTIRRUP FOR SADDLE Filed Feb. 17, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Qc 4| 3e 55 I NVENTOR. F2 5p JOM/ES ON MEM ATTO ENEYS United States Patent O 3,234,711 ADFUSTABLE STIRRUP FOR SADDLE Fred Jamieson, Bakersiield, Calif., assigner of one-half to Ted A. Schindler Filed Feb. 17, 1964, Ser. No. 345,346 1 Claim. (Cl. 54-46) The invention relates to saddlery and has reference to a temporary adjustment of the stirrup strap of a saddle to make it easier to mount a horse. i

Although the employment of horses as necessary beasts of burden on frams and ranches has been supplanted to a great extent by mechanized vehicles quite on the contrary, there has been a tremendous increase in interest for horses as riding horses as a means of outdoor recreation. This, naturally, has produced a considerable demand for riding equipment such as saddles and the necessary accompanying harnesses. Because riding is such an old art there is much of the traditional in saddlery which the riding fraternity seeks to preserve. There are also certain utilitarian features which have been tried and tested for so many years that they have admitted of very little improvement currently despite the increasing use. The equipment, however, has been primarily designed for physically active people, and this design often discourages the less physically active who wouldotherwise be enthusiastic about the pastime. In the last mentioned group of people are those who exercise only infrequently, those who take up the pastime in later years, and even persons who might be handicapped in one respect or another. One of the phases of riding as a pastime which is most troublesome is mounting the horse in the first instance, or possibly being able to remount when out on the trail.

It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a new and improved adjustable stirrup which can be lowered on the mounting side of the horse temporarily to enable the person to mount the horse more easily and which can thereafter be readjusted in normal position Ifor both legs.

Another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved adjustable stirrup strap which can be adjusted so as to be lowered to any one of a number of selected lower positions for mounting and which, once the rider is mounted and in the saddle, can be easily readjusted to a balanced position for both of the riders legs.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a new and improved adjustable stirrup strap for a saddle, which after being lowered on the mounting side to make it easier for the rider to mount the horse, can thereafter be automatically fastened in normal position as promptly as the rider readjusts the lengths of the stirrup straps on both sides of his feet.

Also included among the objects of the invention is to provide a new and improved adjustable stirrup strap for a saddle which makes it easier to reach on the mounting side of the horse during mounting and which at the same time requires no appreciable change in conventional saddle construction.

Further included among the objects of the inventions also is to provide a new and improved adjustable stirrup strap which, after being reset for riding while a person is in the saddle, can, with perfect comfort and safety, be lowered on one side for ease in dismounting.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter set forth, pointed out in the appended claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

FIGURE l is a side perspective view of a saddle equipped with the adjustable stirrup of the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View on the line 2 2 of FIGURE l.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional View taken on the line 4 4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a perspective View ofthe fastening device used in the adjustment.

In an embodiment of the invention used for purposes of illustration, there is shown a saddle indicated generally by the reference character which is built along substantially conventional lines or what is usually denominated a Western type saddle. The saddle consists of a frame 11 having at its rear portion a seat 12 around which is a cantle 13 at the rearward end and a. saddle bow 14 at the forward end. Saddle bars 15 and 16 forming lateral parts of the frame interconnect the cantle 13 with the bow 14 on respectively opposite sides, following substantially a conventional type of saddle construction. Upon the mid-portion of the frame 11 and above the seat 12 is a pad 17 over which is tted a cover 18 customarily of leather and which encases the saddle as a whole.

The stirrup equipment for the saddle consists in part of a pair of stirrup straps and 21, the stirrup strap 20 comprising the upper strap, and the stirrup strap 21 comprising the lower strap in the chosen embodiment. On the left side of the saddle 10, the straps are looped around a stirrup 22 and in an overlapped position are retained by an adjusting clamp 23. The adjusting clamp is not described in detail in that it is a substantially conventional adjusting means to set the stirrup 22 at a selected elevation to suit a particular user of the saddle. Similarly, a stirrup 24 is provided on the opposite side, at the opposite ends of the straps 20 and 21 and the stirrup 24 may be provided with an adjusting clamp (not shown) similar to the adjusting clamp 23.

The special structure involving applicants invention consists of the employment of a fastener indicated generally by the reference character 25 which can be manipulated so as to let the stirrup 22` on the left hand or mounting side of the horse down to a lower position during mounting, as indicated by the broken line in FIGURE 1, and subsequently fasten the stirrup straps 20, 21 in balanced position for riding as shown by the solid line positions of FIGURE l.

The fastener structure in the chosen embodiment consists of a plate having a left end 31 and a right end 32. The left end is provided with holes 33 and the right end with holes 34. The left hand and right hand ends 31 and 32 are curved slightly so as to conform to the curvature of a crown portion of the frame 11 as shown advantageously in FIGURE 4. Screws 35 extending through the holes 33 and 34 are employed to anchor the plate 30 to the `respective saddle bars 15 and 16 of the frame 11. Mounted upon and forming part of the fastener 25 is a slideway consisting of end walls 36 and 37 bridged by a top wall 38. The plate 32 itself forms the other wall of a passage 39 having opposite open ends 40 and 41. In the illustrative embodiment, the passage 39 has 'a rectangular cross-sectional shape slightly larger than the combined straps 20 and 21, which slide through the passage.

A ap 42 normally ove-rlies the top Awall 38 and is pivotally attached to the end wall 37. A bracket 43 is secured by conventional means to the end wall 37 and houses a spring 44. Tabs 45 yand 46 of the flap 42 overlie opposite ends of the bracket 43 and provide means for engagement with a pivot pin 46 so that the ap 42 swings pivotally upon the bracket 43. A peg 47, mounted upon a collar 48 which 4in turn is attached to the spring 44, is engaged by a notch 49 in the flap, and when the flap is raised and urged against the peg 47, torsion spring pressure will Ibe built up in the spring 44 suicient to return `the iiap to its initial position by spring pressure when released.

Inasmuch as there is considerable depth to the end walls 36 and 37, `the pad 17 is provided with an aperture 50 cut out to allow the pad to entirely clear the structure of the fastener 25 which forms the slideway. A similar aperture 51 is provided in the cover 18.

In order to hold the stirrup straps 20 and 21 in riding position as shown in the solid line position of FIGURE l, projections 52 and 53 are constructed upon the under face of the flap 4t2 4as shown advantageously in FIG- URES 2 and 4. In the strap 20 are provided holes 54;- and 55 which match the projections 52 and 53. On those occasions where the projections are as long as shown, holes 56 `and 57 will also be provided in the strap 21 at locations coinciding with the holes 54 and 55. When the flap t2 is lowered to the position shown in FIGURES 1 through 4 inclusive, the projections will extend into the holes and prevent the straps from shifting yfrom the selected balanced position -for riding as shown by the solid line position of FIGURE 1. When the left hand stirrup is lowered to the broken line position of FIGURE 1 for mounting or dismounting, the flap 4Z is lifted suicient to remove the projections 52 and 53 from engagement with the straps in the holes 54, 55, 56 and 57. The stirrup 2-2 can then be pulled down to the broken line position of FIGURE 1, which means, incidentally, that the stirrup on the right side, namely the stirrup 24, will be elevated to the broken line position there shown. The position is determined by the location of a stop 60 which may be riveted to the strap 20 by means of rivets 61 as shown in FIGURE 4. The stop will be drawn to a position abutting the side edge of the top wall 38 which defines the opening 41. Engagement of the stop with the fastener in this fashion fixes the lower position of the left hand stirrup 22. The location of the stop, of course, can be varied to either raise or lower the lowermost position depending on various factors, as `for example, the height of the horse on which the saddle is Ito be used, or the stature of the rider who needs the special convenience of a lowered mounting stirrup.

It may `also `be preferable to provide additional holes 61 and 62 in the strap 20 and 63 and 64 in the strap 21 so that when the ap 42 is released with the stirrup in lowered position, the projections 52 and 53 will fall into the last mentioned holes and thereby temporarily anchor the stirrup in the desired position.

In the structure of the `fastener 25 herein defined, because of the top wall 38 extending entirely over the slide- Way, enlarged holes 65 and 66 are provided lin the top wall 38 coinciding with the locations of the projections 52 and 53. Making the holes 65 and 66 somewhat larger permits the projections, when swinging through an arc to closed and opened positions, to comfortably clear the Walls of the last mentioned holes.

After the rider has mounted the horse and is seated in the saddle, all that is necessary to return vthe stirrup to balanced riding position is to lift the diap 42 upwardly so that the projections 52 and 53 are disengaged from the holes in the straps. The stirrup 24 may then be pushed downwardly from its broken line position of FIGURE l to the solid line position of FIGURE 1, while in the meantime releasing the ap 42. When the stirrups are finally in balanced position, the initially described holes 54, 55, 56 and 57 will be moved to locations beneath the projections 52 and S3 and the projections will thereupon be pressed into the holes by pressure of the spring 44, without it being necessary for the rider to continue his hold upon the flap.

Similarly, when the convenience of a lowered stirrup is desired for dismounting, the rider need only lift the flap 42 upwardly against spring pressure removing the projections `from the holes 54, 55, 56 and 57, .and then, while the ap is elevated, press downwardly upon the stirrup 22 thereby shifting the straps until the stop 60 is pulled against the fastener. In the meantime, the ap 42 may again be released and no further attention need be given to the strap while the rider is dismounting.

From the foregoing description, it will be understood that conventional portions ofthe saddle and accoutrements do not need to be changed in order to incorporate the adjustable stirrup construction of the invention. The stirrups, moreover, can be readily adjusted either with the rider out of the saddle or in the saddle. Riding position of the stirrups is fixed automatically, as is also the convenient mounting position and there is nothing about the structure which interferes with shifting the stirrups from one position to the `other at will. The stirrup straps, moreover, are assured of being maintained in whichever position is selected without prospect of dislodgment.

While the invention has herein been shown and described in what is conceived -to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is recognized that ydepartures may be made therefrom within the scope of the invention, which is not to be limited to the details disclosed herein but is to be `accorded the full scope of the claim so as to embrace any and all equivalent devices.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new in support of Letters Patent is:

An adjustable saddle assembly for a riding saddle comprising a seat frame lhaving a saddle bow at the forward end and a seat structure rearward of said bow, a fastener on said frame rearward of said bow and comprising a plate, end walls, and a top Wall forming a slideway of rectangular cross-sectional shape having opposite laterally open ends, said slideway having an opening in the top wall, a flap pivotally secured with an end wall of the slideway and having `an engaged position overlying said opening and a pivot hinge across one end of the slideway with the pivot axis extending cross-ways of the saddle, said hinge including a spring between the flap and the slideway biased in a direction holding said flap in a position closed against said opening, a stirrup assembly comprising a strap member and stirrups at respective opposite ends of said strap member, said strap member slidably received in the slideway of the fastener having a hole at a location substantially midway between opposite ends yand projection means on said flap adapted to releasably engage said hole whereby to hold said strap member and the stirrups in riding position, said strap member having an unbalanced position upon release of the projection means from the hole whereby one side length of the strap member is longer with respect to the other and the stirrup on said one side length is lower than the other for ease in mounting, and a stop on the other side length of the strap member adapted to abut against the slideway in unbalanced position of the strap member whereby to limit the amount of lowering of said one side length.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,655,778 10/1953 Elle 54-44 SAMUEL KOREN, Primary Examiner.

HUGH R. CHAMBLEE, Examiner, 

